Monday, April 25, 2011

The Importance of Staying Pain Free

People suffer from pain all the time, sleeping the wrong way, or in an awkward position can cause neck pain all day (a stiff neck), sitting for two long can cause back pain, etc. On the other hand if you like to run, or exercise a lot to avoid problems like back pain, be ready for knee or ankle pain, or shin splints. You want to just keep going and "run through" it, be ready for the shin splints to degrade in to stress fractures.

Living in New York City is great but it also takes a toll on your health - not even going to start about the usual "unhealthy air" and "overcrowded subways" bit, that's going to have to wait for a different time. The physical demand on top of a hectic lifestyle that requires you to keep a break neck pace, combined with long bouts of inactivity, which in turn leads to exhaustion and further disdain for energy requiring activity, i.e: exercise can just pound on the stress. Feel like managing your physical health is a losing battle yet?

Truth is, its not all that complicated to take care of your body. Its not always "sound mind, sound body", in recent years and especially in cities like Manhattan its really become clear that its often the other way around. Being in a physical state of well being, peace, and pain free has a great carry over to the mental state, in a big part because you aren't constantly reminded, via physical stimulus (pain) that something is wrong.

Step back and take a look at whole picture. When you're hungry, you eatWhen you're exhausted, you fall asleep (sometimes at work)When you're bored, you seek out fun and companionshipSo how is it that when you're in pain you simply ignore it in favor of "more important" matters, even if its just sitting back to watch TV or play Xbox.

Exercise can create an environment for some serous stress relief as well as help strengthen muscles. That said, an injury can be compounded by just trying to train it away. People have a tendency of addressing their common biological needs and processes, but often when it comes to pain we ignore it, take a few pills and hope for the best.

So what happens when you ignore chronic pain?Letting chronic pain, even when its minimal, can lead to degenerative conditions like:Radiculopahty, which causes symptoms like Sciatica.Bulging Discs, when the Annular swells and bulges out interfering with spinal nervesHerniated Discs, when the internal disc material leaks out past the annulus.

Furthermore, untreated problems of the spine can lead to the discs becoming dessicated and the longer you wait to get treated, usually, the longer it may take to correct the problem. However some patients at Living Well Medical have felt relief almost immediately and a remission of symptoms after only a handful of treatments. Getting rid of pain can relieve a lot of mental stress as well. Knowing that you're physically capable of anything, can help you feel mentally more capable and happier as well.